With very few exceptions most municipal and state employees have seen significant reductions in their wages and benefits, and with those reductions, comes a corresponding decrease in employee morale. Most of us have tried to improve morale by giving the standard pep talks and increasing employee recognition programs.  But for some of them that just isn’t good enough. They are loaded with conspiracy theories and feel entitled to a paycheck. They claim that they have always been underpaid and therefore have no sympathy for their private sector counterparts.

I believe that as a fleet manager you must advise your employees of the reality of their situation. Put their job into perspective and compare it to what is currently occurring outside the confines of the public sector. The reality is that most private sector workers are experiencing hardships much more severe than their public sector counterparts. The vast majority of them have endured notably larger wage and benefits reductions, and in some instances, losing their retirement plans altogether.

Recently, I advertised for a fleet technician position and had no less than 100 well-qualified applicants with experience levels far exceeding those of my current employees. Many had impressive resumes with letters of recommendation from most of their former employers.  Even in that face of adversity, their attitudes and demeanor was a pleasant departure from the entrenched entitlement mentality I am forced to deal with on a daily basis. Inevitably I found myself thinking “only if I could replace a few of my existing staff with some of these applicants, just think of the headaches I could get rid of and potential for increased productivity”.

So with all that said, here is what I told my employees:  All of us are where we are at today because of the decisions we have made in our lives. No one tied our arms behind our backs and forced us into public service, we chose to be here. If you think public service is demanding, try working for a small business owner who is just trying to survive the next payroll. Everyone is taking a hit in this economy and if you feel that you are being adversely affected, then may they should try joining the lines of the chronically unemployed. There are hundreds of people out there who would love to be in your position right now. Be grateful for what you have, knowing you could be a lot worse off. The truth hurts, so suck it up and deal with it! 

Now I know that wasn’t what you would call a motivational speech, but then again, it wasn’t meant to be.